Thursday, June 30, 2016

Once again this
morning I caught myself playing the part of the silly, ol’ man. It's one of the few things I continue to get better at. I was perched precariously
on the rear tractor fender, on tiptoe, clinging desperately to a handful of leaves
on a hickory branch with one hand, while working feverishly to wrap a thirty pound
choker chain around the limb with the other.This was not done simply as recreation.The limb posed a threat to tractor cabs during the haying process, and I
was absolutely determined to pull it down. At the time, this seemed a remarkably
good idea. It was at this point in the festivities that I recalled countless
incidents of other silly, ol’ men found pinned in the wreckage of what seemed
at the time a remarkably good idea.Invariably, those retaining some degree of mental clarity will ask, what
in the world were they thinking!I’ll
tell you.Those of us, who are blessed
to spend much of our lives on the farm, rely on an indispensable and time-honored
recipe: three parts exertion, two parts stamina, one part ingenuity, seventeen
parts luck, and 30 parts absolute insanity!It’s how we’ve always done things. It’s the only way things get done. After
sixty plus years of this, there comes a day when one or more of these
ingredients just simply peters out. So here’s the thing; if you know any silly,
ol’ men, count your blessings and enjoy ‘em while they last. Even if they’ve
been insured, it’s hard to find parts.;)
SC

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Most of us are familiar with the term pathological,
as in pathological liar.The term
pathological, simply means extreme in a way that is abnormal or that indicates
an illness or mental problem of some kind. It seems obvious to me, not as an expert,
but simply a longtime observer of life and human behavior, that there are those
among us who are pathological haters. If so, while these people should not be
subject to ridicule or derision as a result of their illness, it seems fair and
reasonable to question their judgment and motives. As human beings, each of us
is susceptible to being drawn into the behavior of those around us.When those around us are happy, we’re
inclined to be happy.When they’re sad,
our inclination is to accept that there is reason for sadness. When those around us react to others with hostility,
disgust and hatred, we can’t help but be influenced. My dad and mom always encouraged
me to use my own head, and never give unwarranted credibility to the
intolerance, bigotry and unfounded bias of others. That advice has always served
me well. I believe that’s what Christ would do.I suggest you do likewise. SC

How in the world, one may well
ask, has it come to this? I’ll tell you. The term “civilized”
is defined as: “marked by well-organized laws and rules about how people behave
with each other. The expectation of a civilized people or society is that their
behavior and their interaction with others be polite, reasonable, and respectful.”
Throughout the history of mankind these traits have been encouraged and
expected. If people wished to be accepted, well received and successful, they understood
they were required to behave as though they were civilized. Young people
observed these characteristics in all successful people. They were taught from
an early age that there were consequences for bad or uncivilized behavior, and everything
they observed in their church, their immediate family, the media, the
professional world, and even politics for the most part, proved this to be true.
Today, much of our society believes the opposite to be true.Today civil, respectful behavior is placed in
the same category as political correctness and actually discouraged and disparaged
by much of society. Our youth today see coarse, crude, vulgar, disrespectful,
foulmouthed behavior rewarded and encouraged in a way which would have been entirely
unimaginable and abhorrent by all past generations.They hear this behavior applauded and
encouraged from the media, much of society, political candidates, elected
leaders, and even the pulpit.And then
we ask how is this possible.How we’ve
degenerated to this point is no mystery.Whether
we care enough to reverse it by our own efforts and behavior is the question.
One thing remains true: bad, irresponsible, uncivilized, disrespectful behavior
has consequences. It has brought down entire civilizations in the past. It
requires little imagination to envision that happening again.Correcting this sad state of affairs relies
on each one of us doing better ourselves and expecting better from others. Our
youth are watching, and our behavior today will largely determine their future.
SC

Sunday, June 26, 2016

We hear a good deal of talk today
about taking America back and making this country great again. Let’s assume this
rhetoric implies a rededication to the ideals for which America is best known
and respected at home and around the world. What then is the source of that
greatness?What then are those ideals? One
of the most emblematic symbols of America and her greatness is the Statue of
Liberty and the iconic words engraven within her pedestal: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses
yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send
these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden
door!" The American ideals of equality, liberty and inclusiveness are at
the very heart of America’s true identity and greatness. They are why America
became and continues to be a beacon of freedom and justice around the world. We
are a country of immigrants.Regardless
of whether our families arrived in this country during colonial times or more recently,
our ancestors were immigrants. The United States of America is the result of
people from all around the world who risked everything in pursuit of a dream
summed up quite well in America’s Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths
to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of happiness.” From 1776 until today, American ideals of freedom
and opportunity have been personified by our elected leaders, but America’s
greatness today and throughout the ages is not the result of elected leaders,
but our citizens, common men and women who cherish America’s time-honored principles
and dedicate their efforts and their lives to the preservation and advancement
of those ideals. Our challenge today is not a belligerent taking back of those
ideals, but a rededication to the sharing, promotion and advancement of those
ideals for all our citizens. Our challenge today is in many ways identical to
that which confronted our country when President Lincoln closed his second
inaugural address with the following words: “With malice toward none, with
charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right,
let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds;
to care for him who shall have born the battle, and for his widow, and his
orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among
ourselves and with all nations.” America’s greatness is now and has always been
the result of our citizens and the principles of Liberty, Equality and Justice
as contained in America’s time-honored historical documents and the speeches of
our most celebrated statesmen. In November of 1863, President Lincoln addressed
those assembled for the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. According
to the President, those whose souls had hallowed that ground had given their
lives that the nation itself might life.And he entreated the people to dedicate themselves to the great task
before them, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom,
and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not
perish from the earth. That’s a compelling idea: a democratic government, of,
by and for a people, unified by their faith and their mutual pursuit of liberty
and justice for all. That’s a proposition worth dying for. That’s why America
is great.SC

A true Republican and one of
my all-time favorite Presidents, Teddy Roosevelt said, “Every reform
movement has a lunatic fringe.” I believe that’s very true.I believe it’s equally true of all religious
and political movements. There are those among us, in all political and
religious persuasions, which excel at the art of appealing to the baser
instincts inside each of us in order to achieve their own goals. They are
masters at using our natural tendencies toward greed, apathy, and suspicion to
pit us one against the other in order achieve their own selfish agendas. They
encourage the belief that bigotry, intolerance, racism and a general
contempt for all efforts toward compromise, patriotism and unity are not only
acceptable, but even admirable, and their efforts poison and polarize all
efforts toward common cause and the general good.

There are others among us.There are those who believe that America’s
best days are yet ahead.There are those
who believe that America’s time-honored institutions are among the most
admirable ever achieved by societies and civilizations who aspire to high
ideals. They believe that America's greatest strength is diversity. And
they honor diversity to keep America strong. They believe that America’s
Constitution and historical documents call all of mankind to a higher plain,
encouraging us to heed the voices of our better angels, to extend ever onward
the long arc of moral justice in the universe, and to strive with determination
toward the goals of our country’s founding fathers in a peaceful yet
uncompromising effort on behalf of truth, justice and the American way. Choose
wisely and participate America.There’s
a lot at stake. SC

Sunday, June 19, 2016

We’ve all
heard the slogan, “guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” You know what? The
underlying problem is neither guns nor people.Hatred kills people.Hatred is
responsible for terrorism. Hatred is responsible for mass shootings. Hatred is
responsible for intolerance and bigotry. In the vast majority of cases, hatred
is responsible for violence. Okay, what causes hatred?The underlying cause of hatred is ignorance,
misunderstanding and fear. So how do we combat these things? Each of these
evils are minimized or entirely averted when we simply denounce them and reach
out to each other with compassion. The answer to hatred, gun deaths and violence
is not a negative reaction to anything. It’s simply a more positive reaction to
each other. It’s not embracing the politics of resentment, exclusion
and hatred, but reaching out to the hopeless and helpless and embracing them.SC

Thursday, June 16, 2016

The problem in our
country today is actually quite simple. We suffer from an epidemic of fear
mongering and phobias, fanned deliberately into a major conflagration for the
financial gain of a few unscrupulous entities. The solution is reason, education, cooperation and informed young
people. SC

At the risk of creating
any additional unpleasantness regarding gun control, I have a serious question
maybe someone can answer.As a result of
the gun control debate and its effects on their sales and membership, Mr. LaPierre
and his associates with the NRA have become fabulously wealthy. Not
surprisingly, they would prefer that the debate and its subsequent spike in their
sales and membership continue from here to infinity and beyond.I suppose that’s entirely possible.It’s a passionate issue.Beneath all the passion and hysterics, one assumes
there are actual facts. If one examines the statistics, it seems clear, we
already have sufficient guns and ammunition is this country to kill every man,
woman and child in the world, over and over and over again. So, just out of
curiosity, how many weapons would be required to eventually meet our needs?

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Teddy Roosevelt said,
“Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe.” Sadly, the same is true of every major
religion of the world today.In each and
every major religion, now and throughout the ages, is a component of bigoted,
intolerant, fundamentalism. Christianity has been a part of this mix for over
two thousand years, and is no exception. Anyone who believes otherwise is
either remarkably naïve or part of the problem.

Here’s some free advice, and worth every
penny.My folks always counseled me, use
your own head and your own heart. Anytime you’re forced to choose between
staying true to your own beliefs with a clear conscience or, going along to get
along, you’re better served by keeping a clear conscience. Those around you
will come and go, and through time may change positions, but you and your
conscience are together for the long haul.SC

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

A BRIEF HISTORY LESSON, FOR WHICH I APOLOGIZE
IN ADVANCE: Early American pioneers, while crossing the plains, would find fuel
for their campfires difficult if not impossible to find.As a result, they would resort to the use of buffalo
dung as fuel. The buffalo dung would provide a brief burst of heat, a disgusting
stench and a repulsive smolder, before eventually burning out. I fully expect a similar result from Mr. Trump’s
Presidential aspirations. At least, that’s my fervent hope. SC

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Once again I feel
compelled to run the risk of offending many by publicly posting my prayer. Dear Father in heaven,
once again our country is rocked by senseless violence and slaughter. Once
again the voices of professed Christians will be lifted in prayer.Some will pray for comfort for the fallen and
their families. Others will pray that this incident will in no way impede their
efforts to acquire their precious assault rifles. I pray only that those who profess
to be followers of Christ might behave accordingly, that those who would be His
feet step out in faith, that those who would be His hands reach out in mercy,
and that those who would be good in God’s eyes do as God requires, ministering
to a lost world as sheep among wolves, being wise as serpents and harmless as
doves, while doing justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with their God. Amen,
SC

Thursday, June 9, 2016

As a little boy, back
in the 1950s, I became very ill.My mom
and dad loaded me into the old Chevy and took me to the doctor.A spinal tap determined that I had Poliomyelitis.
Following the diagnosis, I spent several terrifying weeks confined to a
hospital ward at Kaiser Hospital in Vallejo, California.There I saw other children struggling with
the crippling disease.Some were in
braces. Some were confined to iron lungs. Some never walked again.Some never left the facility.Some died. One night, all alone in my room
and scared half to death, I remembered one of my favorite books back home.The title of the little children’s book was “Jesus,
A Boy’s Friend”. I began praying as only a terrified child can pray, and I
prayed and cried until I fell asleep.Several days later the doctor had good news for my family. My symptoms
were gone. They were free to take me home. As I left the hospital, hand in hand
with Mom and Dad that day, I began a path that has led me to this day. Some
days my faith is just as strong as the day I left that hospital. Other days,
not so much, but from that day to this I’ve set out each day to walk the path I’m
given, in the light I’m given. On my very best days, I share that light with
others.Each of us walks a different path,
revealed in a different light. As a result, we each have different perspectives,
different convictions, and varying points of view. We need to show each other a
little compassion and cut each other some slack.SC

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Dad was born in the
Ozark Mountains of south central Missouri in 1924.Today would have been his birthday.Like many young men of the period, he left
home at an early age and joined the Civilian Conservation Corp. When World War
II broke out Dad served on the Battleship New Jersey. Following the war he was
employed as a lineman for 32 years.He
and Mom were married for almost 60. His retirement years were spent raising
cattle and working the family farm. Dad believed in doing justly, loving mercy
and walking humbly with his God.He
extended that mercy to all God’s creatures great and small and devoted himself
to the stewardship of our land. Even at eighty, Dad easily outworked me.He’d drive a pine post with seemingly effortless
strokes, while I swung and swatted and splintered posts to pieces. He often
whistled as he worked, and on many occasions, when hearing a favorite tune on
the radio, he’d spring into a rousing dance routine I can only describe as a
peculiar combination of Irish jig and Ozark snake stomp. Given time I’ll master
that move myself.I’m entirely certain my
relationship with Dad was a perfect example of what God intended when He first created
fatherhood, and I held his hand as he drew his final breath. We scattered his
ashes up on the hill, just as he’d requested, and I never walk the Ozark Hills
that I don’t miss my dad.